Social care leaders call for three-way attack on care crisis

Directors of adult social care have made three recommendations to solve a growing care crisis.

In a new report, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) say that the number of people awaiting an assessment of their needs, care or direct payments to begin or for a review of their care plan has increased by 8 per cent since March 2023. This equates to just under a quarter of a million people (249,589).

Making recommendations to government, ADASS says: “A longer wait increases the likelihood that someone’s safety or health may decline further and their care needs may increase.”

The report calls for the following measures:

An additional £300 million investment in adult social care ahead of winter, to enable councils and providers to recruit and retain staff in what is an extremely competitive labour market
A minimum of £600m in additional government funding for 2024/25 to stabilise adult social care budgets ahead of the next Spending Review period.
For the next Spending Review period, a long-term fully funded adult social care workforce plan.

ADASS President Beverley Tarka said: ”Adult social care finances, and local government budgets more broadly, are in an extremely challenging position. This report suggests that an increased level of funding for adult social care from Government in recent years has undoubtedly made an impact, but not fixed adult social care.”